Privacy companies like to talk about protecting users, but very few invest money or resources in organizations that actually deal with digital surveillance. That's why the new partnership between Surfshark and Amnesty International is worth noting.
Surfshark he said that it is now a supporting partner of Amnesty International’s Digital Forensics Fellowship program. The initiative trains activists, journalists and human rights defenders in mobile forensics and digital security. In other words, people who are most likely to become targets of spyware campaigns, state surveillance or sophisticated hacking efforts.
The program reportedly grew out of the fallout from the Pegasus Project, which exposed how powerful spyware tools were allegedly used against journalists, activists, lawyers, and political opponents around the world. Since then, digital surveillance has become a huge topic in cybersecurity circles, especially as governments and private companies continue to develop increasingly invasive surveillance tools.
According to Amnesty International, the Digital Forensics Fellowship focuses on supporting civil society organizations to build in-house expertise rather than relying solely on external security firms. This is important because many smaller nonprofits and independent media organizations do not have the money or technical staff to investigate compromised phones or suspicious activity on their own.
Surfshark says the partnership aligns with the company’s broader push for digital privacy and online freedom. The company already runs programs like its Emergency VPN initiative, which provides free VPN accounts to journalists, activists, and NGO workers operating in areas with concerns about censorship or surveillance.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
